Private Walking Tour in Montmartre

The Moulin Rouge (red mill) is a landmark that is deeply rooted to life in Montmartre. Iconic because of the structure and the building, back in 1889 it was the only place shining bright red lights in Paris, we could see this temple of entertainment from everywhere. Birthplace of the French cancan, which is a dance intimately linked to subversiveness, by its creation under the Monarchy, in an era ruled by the patriarchy and by the Church; as well as with its rebirth after the Paris Commune, the first short period of politicization and equal political representation of women in French society. Each step of the cancan has a name and a precise meaning. They generally insult institutions which degrade the status of women and thereby a democratic and egalitarian society.

Montmartre area is made by 3 levels, one down the hill, one called Abbesses and the last one at the top of the hill which is Montmartre Village. We will walk through all the levels talking about history of what we call "La Commune" and this artists village

Montmartre is also about art! Picasso, Modigliani, Toulouse Lautrec, Van Gogh were living around. The Bateau Lavoir is the place where they were living and working. Here you will truly understand the life of the artists of Montmartre, their struggle to make a living or their arts but also to stay clean and away from the addiction widely accessible to them.

Back in time, Montmartre was full of mills, 30 to be exact. There were crushing seeds, plaster and wheat. However, with Montmartre quickly changing to becoming a place of sins and pleasures, some mill owners realize that there is a far more profitable business opportunity. They would soon transform the mill and turn it into a cabaret and a dance floor that would become the place to be. It's also the birthplace of impressionism with Monet, Manet, Cézanne, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas...

Here is a famous spot of Montmartre area! Famous for instagram but also by its story.

Wine has always been a crucial part of the history of Montmartre. With the nones in the first place, the mills and later all the cabarets. Le Clos Montmartre wine is made in the cellar of the city hall (mairie du 18e) and sold every year for charity. Every year in October: Wine harvesting festival of Montmartre, more than 200,000 people.

The Lapin is atmospheric: a two-room cabin from the 1860s where generations of artists and ne’er-do-wells have caroused, from the impressionists onwards. Paintings dark with age line the walls, and the audience sits on rough benches drinking thimbles of pruneau brandy. Admission for a show costs €35, including one drink, and around 10pm the singing starts. There’ll be comic songs on the piano, ballads roared by patron Yves Mathieu. But it’s the accordion player who really takes you back to Paris in the 1930s – gaslight in the alleys, hope on the horizon.

Place du Tertre is the central place of Montmartre village where you'll find artists from today and be able to have your own sketched portrait made. Back in time, you would be able to find Picasso and Van Gogh around here.

The Sacré-Coeur is a quite recent church that was made in the beginning of the 20th century. It has a unique stone called Chateau-Landon, which “self-cleans” on the contact of water.